Study search platform, Hotcourses, has introduced a new metric that allows students to filter search results based on the diversity of the international student body at institutions in top study destination countries.
Students can use the “Diversity Index” tool to get a count of nationalities on campus while the “Feel At Home” index displays the percentage of international students for each nationality.
The index uses government data to provide the relative diversity of international students enroled in the institutions at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
According to the index, the University of Westminster has the most diverse international student body of the four countries, with 169 nationalities.
“The tool also offers universities a view of how they compare to their country and global peers”
This is followed by The University of Greenwich and Kingston University, also in the UK with 168 and 156 nationalities, respectively.
The index also displays the nationality proportion of international student totals.For example, 6% of the international student body at Westminster is from Italy, followed by almost 5% from China.
In the US, Houston Community College tops the diversity index, with 151 nationalities, ranking 10th overall, while in Australia, The University of Sydney enrols 144 nationalities. Topping New Zealand’s index, The University of Auckland enrols 53 nationalities.
“Whether a student seeks a culturally diverse campus experience or prefers the ‘safety in numbers’ of studying amongst fellow countrymen, our Diversity Index is unique in its ability to provide an immediate and comparable oversight of the nationality mix of universities’ student bodies,” said Andrew Wharton, managing director of Hotcourses International.
“With the need to diversify a strategic imperative for many universities, the tool also offers universities a view of how they compare to their country and global peers.”
